TAVARES, Fla. — Lake County commissioners are backing a plan to build a memorial to four young black men accused of raping a white girl in a 1949 case now seen as a miscarriage of justice.
- Lake County leaders support plan to build Groveland Four memorial
- Monument would be installed in front of a historic courthouse
- RELATED STORIES:
The Orlando Sentinel reported Lake County commissioners on Tuesday backed a plan to install a marker in front of a historic courthouse.
The case of the men known as the Groveland Four is considered a blight on Florida's history.
The four men — Ernest Thomas, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Charles Greenlee — were accused of raping then 17-year-old Norma Padgett in Groveland.
Thomas was shot and killed by a posse before making it to trial. Irvin, Shepherd, and Greenlee were convicted by an all-white jury, despite a witness and doctor saying there was dubious evidence
Before their granted retrial, Shepherd and Irvin were shot by Sheriff Willis McCall. Shepherd died.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state's clemency board recently granted posthumous pardons to the men.
The city of Groveland and the Florida Legislature have issued apologies to the Groveland Four and their families.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.